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JULY 20, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A5 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Keizer’s most spoiled child There will be many excuses con- cocted and deployed for the Keizer City Council’s actions this week in letting Keizer Little League (KLL) off the hook for more than $13,000 it owes the complex at Keizer Little League Park. Keizer residents should be skeptical of them. In May, it became public knowledge that KLL withheld more than $12,000 it owed the complex from con- cession sales. On Mon- day, the public learned that the city manager knew KLL had been with- holding the payment for at least the fi ve previous months in hopes of having its contract for managing the park retroactively adjusted to per- mit keeping those revenues. Attendees at the city coun- cil meeting Monday, July 16, also learned that the concession money wasn’t the only money KLL had been withholding from the park complex. KLL owed more than $15,000 in tournament revenue and slot fees for fi eld usage by KLL teams. In total, KLL owed the complex more than $28,000 from the 2017 season. In response, the city council wiped out the amount due from the concession stand in exchange for recouping the slightly higher slot fees and a tepid caution against let- ting a similar situation arise in the future. One councilor even offered to let them off scot-free. Fortu- nately, slightly-more-sensible minds prevailed. In short, KLL blackmailed the complex (that the city owns) for the forgiveness of one debt to pay back another debt to the same entity. City leaders allowed it to happen. This should not sit well with any- one in Keizer. It would be disingenuous to sug- gest that Keizer residents got noth- ing else out of its agreement with the organization; KLL families and board members have gone to great lengths to care for and improve the facilities in recent years. But the or- ganization also had a contract with the city to ensure money generated at the park was reinvested in the park. Whether the group violated that contract through ignorance or oversight is beside the point. Know- ing they had a contract with the city of Keizer, and thereby all of its resi- dents, should have prompted every single member of the KLL board of directors to read and make certain they were following the agreement to the letter. These actions by KLL and city council are galling, but city coun- cilors doubled down on it by grant- ing KLL’s wish to retroac- tively amend the facility management contract to allow the managing or- ganization to keep half of the concession revenue and all tournament rev- enue going forward. At the very least, the council should have kept the contract – as it was originally written – in place until KLL leaders proved that they could be trusted to act in good faith. In- stead, the organization will suffer no true consequence for what amounts to a successful blackmail scheme. It’s hard to fathom any other situa- tion in the public realm when such tactics would be countenanced. At a time when faith in government is diminished at best, decisions such as this serve to fan the fl ames of discontent. For Keizer, specifi cally, it will make residents more skepti- cal of fees implemented in 2017 to cover the costs of police and public safety. Moreover, last week, a member of the KLL board told members of the Keizer Parks Advisory Board last week that he plans to request an- other matching grant from the city to fund more improvements at KLL Park. The editorial board of this pa- per strongly suggests members of the parks board think long and hard about whether to approve it. The parks board has approved $20,000 in matching funds for im- provements – that came out of the city’s general fund – during the past three years. Adding to that sum will only embolden the bad actors of the KLL board who are trading on nos- talgia as much as actual interest in the services they offer. It should not be the role of the volunteer parks board members to dole out reper- cussions when the city’s elected and paid offi cials fail to do their job, but the Parks Advisory Board is now the only municipal group left with an opportunity to send a message that KLL’s actions are not acceptable. The old adage of sparing the rod and spoiling the child isn’t one that this paper’s editors are fond of, but the success of KLL’s brattish and brutish ways are prompting us to reconsider that stance. —Editorial Board our opinion Legislator’s day jobs I often use this space to bring to law practices, we are legislators. Though we are part time legisla- you information about the legisla- ture and the process that goes on tors, most of us treat it as a full time in that body. What is not spoken of job. Summer is the one time when many legislators take a very often in Oregon is break and enjoy time with what legislators do when family and friends and try we are not in legislative to stay out of the political session. Considering we arena and take a breather. only meet for approxi- And I think that’s a good mately six months in the thing for Oregonians. We odd numbered years and do answer phone mes- 35 days or so in the even sages, emails and letters numbered years, we truly to our offi ces and for are a “part time” legisla- those of us in the House, ture with “citizen” legisla- interim is devoted to tors. from tho this campaigns (the senators Many legislators are re- elected to four-year tired professionals; others capitol are terms, the representatives are doctors, police offi cers, By BILL POST to two-year terms). As for teachers and many are at- what I do during the in- torneys who can return to terim, as stated, I do a lot their practices during the of media related jobs and interim period. For those of us who work another job, it’s a campaign for reelection, help others time to go back to our places of in their campaigns yet still fi nd time employment. I’ve met many people to write potential legislation for the in House District 25 that actually next full session which comes in didn’t know this about our legisla- January 2019. I meet constituents both in dis- ture. In my case, I am a lifelong ra- dio/TV broadcaster and I have re- trict and in my offi ce at the Capitol. turned to that in a limited fashion. I I go on many tours around the state do voiceover work, write commer- to see what issues are important to cials and other broadcasting related Oregon and more specifi cally, House tasks. Still, even though we each go District 25. I utilize our Legislative back to our regular jobs, retirement, Counsel, who are the attorneys who work for the legislature, by asking them for opinions on various topics. Just recently in Keizer, we had the issue of the shooting range across the river in Polk County that is af- fecting residents on the Keizer side of the river. I attended a meeting in Polk County as well as wrote let- ters to the owners of the property, the Polk and Marion County Com- missioners and the Polk and Marion County Sheriffs. I used opinions from Legislative Counsel to help me with that. During the interim I also spent time studying the press- ing issues of Oregon and in my case, the issues that affect this district the most: agriculture. I intend to again submit legislation to assist and pro- tect our valuable farms and dairies in District 25. I will have more news on those as we move toward January. All in all, though it’s a part time job being a legislator, as you can see the job never ends when the gavel falls. As always, I am honored and privileged to serve you as your State Representative in Keizer, St. Paul and Newberg and thank you for the opportunity. (Bill Post roprosonts Houso Dis- trict 25. Ho can bo roachod at 503- 986-1425 or via omail at rop. bil- post@ orogonlogislaturo.gov.) Nothing wrong with the middle Share your opinion Email a Letter to the Editor or submit a guest column to the Keizertimes. Deadline is noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com Keizertimes Whoatland Publishing Corp. 142 Chomawa Road N. • Koizor, Orogon 97303 Phono: 503.390.1051 • www.koizortimos.com MANAGING EDITOR Eric A. Howald oditor@koizortimos.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR SUBSCRIPTIONS Dorok Wiloy nows@koizortimos.com ADVERTISING Paula Mosoloy advortising@koizortimos.com PRODUCTION MANAGER & GRAPHIC DESIGNER EDITOR & PUBLISHER Lyndon Zaitz publisher@keizertimes.com Ono yoar: $25 in Marion County, $33 outsido Marion County, $45 outsido Orogon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publication No: USPS 679-430 Androw Jackson graphics@koizortimos.com POSTMASTER Sond addross changos to: LEGAL NOTICES logals@koizortimos.com Koizortimos Circulation BUSINESS MANAGER 142 Chomawa Road N. Loah Stovons Koizor, OR 97303 billing@koizortimos.com RECEPTION Lori Boyolor INTERNS Poriodical postago paid at Salom, Orogon Random Pondragon Casoy Chaffi n facobook.com/koizortimos twittor.com/koizortimos There’s a need in our country for compromise and mutual consider- ation by the leaders in Washington, D.C. and throughout the nation, to bring about the changes and set an exemplary example. Such an ef- fort could calm the storms that rage across the nation. Both Democrats and Republicans in recent years have mutually done much to rile and upset those on the opposite side of the aisle. At the risk of sounding partisan, the fi rst look in this piece is focused on the Repub- licans as they at present have a slim majority in the U.S. Senate with a somewhat wider margin in the House. The GOP holds sway in the White House and Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the giant chasm be- tween the wealthy and those with limited means has grown wider and deeper with the near-extinction of the moderating infl uence of the middle class. The middle class in the last century served as a highly fl ex- ible social organ because the poor, through education and opportu- nity, could move into it while those Americans who greatly succeeded at their endeavors could move into the ranks of Americans with consider- able means but not, as now, with excessive wealth. However, with the mid- dle class diminished and the 1 percent of rich American numbers enhanced, those with the money and power have gone exclusive and sought more money and power by eliminating con- trols on their spending for like-minded political can- didate choices while simul- taneously having succeeded to elect their people by denying others of lesser means their vote. Then, too, most recently, by a Su- preme Court decision that denied organized labor the ability to fi nancially compete with them. It appears likely that reactive con- servatives will number 5, pro-active progressives 4. Hence, the Supreme Court of the United States will be- come demagogic, partisan and one- sided. Every decision by the Su- preme Court will be predictable and foreordained, and likely to result in more deep national frac- tures. Some examples of what’s about to hap- pen to cause ever deeper and wider divides can be identifi ed already, that is, women’s rights gone, environmental controls abolished, the nation’s wealth to the few by taxation law, only Nor- wegians granted immigration, no more Muslims, and the Affordable Care Act dead. While only 1 percent of the American population are among the nation’s multi-millionaires and bil- lionaires, the remaining 321 million citizens often fi nding it a struggle to make ends meet, continue never- theless to support the tiny wealthy minority who have become notori- ous for their self-centeredness and relentless unwillingness to bring their fellow citizens to even a wage- earning level that provides access to gono h. mcintyro fi nancial security at present and a re- spectable retirement later. The logical thing by those who’ve already been left to pick up crumbs is to see to it by voting and sending their representatives to D.C. and Sa- lem who will work to see to it that more Americans have the opportu- nity to achieve wages and benefi ts that begin once again to establish and maintain this democratic repub- lic’s anchor and stabilizer, the middle class. When a signifi cant percent- age of the population is unwilling to fi ght for their future and that of their children, then consequent gen- erations will predictably live more like their ancestors in the Middle Ages than the former middle class. One more thought begs con- sideration. “Make America Great Again” was the catchy slogan that appealed to a whole lot of voters in the 2016 presidential contest. However, to date, what “America” in that slogan has meant is that the vast majority in millions of Ameri- cans who seek the American Dream are no better off; rather, those multi- millionairs before January, 2017, by the new federal tax law, and other Trump administration advantages, have become billionaires. (Gono H. McIntyro sharos his opin- ion oach wook in tho Koizortimos.)
